I am Dr. Naresh M. Shah, practicing as a Physician for more than 20 years in Vadodara and Ankleshwar.

Sometime back, during my practicing hours, a lady walked into my clinic. She immediately removed a handkerchief and rolled out 800 to 900 Rupees. She handed over the money to me, this left me confused. She had neither consulted me nor taken any medical assistance from me.

On further enquiry, she revealed that she had come along with a relative around 6 months ago. It was late night when I checked him. It was an emergency situation. On examination, I understood that he had suffered a stroke. I advised her to immediately take the patient to Surat for further treatment and I did not charge any fees. I knew they were needy and even the smallest amounts would be helpful to the patient for continuing treatment in Surat.

That patient’s health deteriorated and his chances of surviving the stroke was minimal. Even in that state, before dying, the patient asked the lady to repay me my fees.

I clearly remembered that incident, after further conversation with her I told her that I cannot accept the money. It is at this time that the lady started feeling nervous as I refused to accept the fees and at the same time she considered the money as a debt of her deceased relative.

Seeing her worried, I proposed that the money be donated to a cowshed in the memory of her relative. The same day, both of us went to a cowshed and donated the amount. This action relieved both of us from our discomfort.

The message that I want to pass on to all the readers is that, we should help the needy. When somebody comes to us for relieving their sufferings, we should not give them more than required financial help. This additional financial support may become a burden to them, even if they tolerate it for the time being, but they won’t be happy. Rather we should find a way to reduce their pain.

Thank you Zydus for helping me to share this message to all of you reading this!